Lost, in LA
by Kennie Gajos
Summary: A chance encounter during the Battle for LA leads to chaos. Long-awaited prequel to Visions of Vampires.
1. Wake Up Call

**A/N:**

Happy Holidays! Hope you're having a festive time, wherever you are.

I own none of the rights associated with _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ or the _Stargate_ franchise and make no profit from this humble story. If you don't like it, please don't sue. If you do, leave a review!

Enjoy!

**Wake Up Call**

Rrrrrrrrrring!

Rrrrrrrrrring!

Rrrrrrrrrring!

Mumbling grumpily to himself, Daniel Jackson stirred in his bed, reaching out one arm to pick up the ringing phone. Groggy with sleep, he fumbled and dropped the receiver.

"Daniel? Daniel!" the impatient voice of his boss and best friend, General Jack O'Neill barked tinnily out of the handset. "Pick up the damn phone, Daniel!"

"I just got to sleep, Jack," Daniel protested sleepily, cradling the phone against his ear.

"I don't care," Jack told him. "We've got a foothold situation. I'm beaming you up in ten minutes whether you're ready or not, you got that Daniel?"

"Yes, Jack," yawned Daniel, deciding that Jack couldn't really have said that there was a foothold situation.

"I mean it, Daniel," Jack warned.

"Okay, Jack," Daniel mumbled as he drifted back off to sleep.

Jack hung up.

**l**

Samantha Carter woke up reluctantly to the sound of her ringing phone. It had to be an emergency. No-one in their right mind would call at this time of the morning. She picked up.

"Carter," she mumbled into the mouthpiece.

"Sorry to do this to you, Carter," General O'Neill said smoothly and Sam sat bolt upright in bed, clutching the covers to her chest. "We've got a foothold situation. I'm beaming you onboard the Prometheus in five minutes for a briefing."

"Yes, sir," Sam replied, throwing off her duvet. "I'm up, sir. I'm moving."

"See you in five, Carter," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Sam. He'd already hung up.

**l**

"Buffy!" Willow's panicked shout echoed magically throughout the castle.

"Yo, B!" Faith's did it naturally.

Doors slammed as slayers went to investigate. Normally Willow and Faith could be found snuggling with their other halves in South and North America respectively. For them both to be here meant that something big was up. Enquiring minds wanted to know what. By the time Buffy tracked them down in the hall they were besieged by a mob of curious slayers.

"Okay!" yelled Buffy. "Back off!"

Reluctantly, the slayers stepped back, letting Buffy actually see her friends. Faith was radiating pent-up aggression and Willow looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Buffy!" cried Willow. "Get the scythe! We have to help... He's in way over his head... I didn't know... I didn't see!"

"Whoa!" said Buffy as her witchy friend gasped for air. "Breathe, Will, breathe." Over Willow's shoulder, Buffy's eyes met Xander's as he hurried across the room to them and she gratefully handed her over to him, turning to Faith as he enfolded Willow in a hug. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Who's in over their head."

"About two hours ago, one of the Cleveland seers went catatonic," Faith explained. "Before he did, he said one word. LA."

"Technically that's two letters," Xander pointed out as Buffy's lips pursed.

"I called Red," Faith ignored him. "Sat on the phone with Kennedy for an hour and a half while she stared at her bellybutton..."

"I was meditating," Willow protested, breaking out of Xander's comforting embrace.

"LA's Angel's turf," Buffy said flatly. "It's his responsibility."

"B, you _need_ to hear this," Faith said urgently, her eyes deadly serious as looked Buffy straight in the eye.

The Slayer's daintily shod foot tapped on the marble floor. "I'm listening..." she said, her arms crossed and one perfectly plucked eyebrow arched high.

"Angel's been working against the Senior Partners from the start," Willow said. "He decided that the only way to do that was to take out their avatars on Earth, the Circle of the Black Thorn."

"They're sending an _army_ after him!" Faith said desperately.

"When?" asked Buffy.

"Now!" Willow and Faith cried out at the same time.

The Slayer's lip curled back to expose even white teeth as she snarled ferally. "Break out the weapons!" she ordered.


	2. Not Close Enough

**A/N:**

_Italics_ are used to idicate either an _emphasis_ on a word or _telepathic speech_. It should be obvious which from the context they are used in. Any questions, just ask. ;)

Enjoy!

**Not Close Enough**

**l**

"Dawn!" yelled Buffy as slayers ran in all directions around her. "Get your big butt in here!"

"My butt's not big!" Dawn shouted back.

"Now!" Buffy yelled. She grimaced at Willow and Faith. "She's PMT-ing," she explained.

"I heard that," sulked Dawn, entering the room. She dropped the attitude when she caught sight of their faces. "Who died?"

"Angel's in trouble," Buffy told her.

"I thought we didn't care?" said Dawn. "Right. It's Angel. Who were we kidding?" She sighed, "Lemme guess, you want blood? Freakin' vampires..."

**l**

Four and a half minutes after General O'Neill's call, Sam was dressed in black BDU's and ready to go. Right on schedule, the transporter beam activated and her bedroom was replaced by the Prometheus' bridge. On the floor beside her, wearing striped pyjamas, Daniel lay curled on his side, sleeping peacefully.

"Welcome aboard, Carter," drawled General O'Neill, holding a large mug.

"Thank you, sir," Sam said, looking down at Daniel. "Uh..."

"Daniel!" the General barked. "Wake up! I have coffee..."

"Coffee?" Daniel said blearily, raising his head and squinting at his surroundings. He frowned, "This isn't my bedroom..."

"No," said General O'Neill as Daniel stood up. "It isn't."

Daniel blinked, "Where're my glasses?"

"There's a spare pair waiting for you in the locker room," the General told him, handing him the mug he'd been carrying. "Drink that while you get changed. Teal'c'll explain everything."

"Okay," Daniel agreed, clutching the mug of coffee to his chest as he followed Teal'c out of the room.

"What's the situation, sir?" Sam asked.

"A little over ten minutes ago, reports started coming in about an army of creatures in the streets of downtown LA. The Prometheus has been running scans of the area and we're picking up literally hundreds of anomalous lifeforms converging on one block."

"What kind of lifeforms, sir?" Sam asked curiously.

"That's what I'm sending SG-1, 3 and 11 to find out," said the General.

Sam could see he didn't like it by the way his lips pursed together.

**l**

"Xander, break out the bandages and get ready to receive wounded," Buffy instructed as, in the background, Dawn carefully squeezed a drop of blood from her finger onto the amulet she held in her hand. Green light spilled out of the crystal in the centre, settling down into a steady glow. Dawn put the amulet down on the pile she'd already activated and reached into the box beside her for another one. "I don't want anyone playing the hero," warned Buffy. "If you're hurt, use your amulet and get off the field."

"No," Xander said quietly.

Buffy frowned, "What?"

"Look, I know he's evil and I hate him with a fiery, fiery vengeance that knows no bounds, but in the end..." Xander sighed, shrugging helplessly. "He's Deadboy. Weapon me up."

"Give the man a weapon!" Faith grinned, clapping him on the back.

Xander smiled weakly back at her, clutching his shoulder. "Ow," he said quietly.

"Dawnie..." said Buffy as her sister activated another amulet. "When you're done bleeding..."

"Bandages," sighed Dawn. "I heard."

**l**

One cup of coffee really wasn't enough for a foothold situation, Daniel decided as Jack told them what they probably _wouldn't_ be facing. Next time, he was going to insist on at least two.

"We can't put you down in the centre of the conflict," Jack was saying regretfully. Personally, Daniel thought that was a good thing. "Something's blocking us. But we're getting you as close as we can."

Joy, thought Daniel.

"Godspeed," said Jack and the Prometheus melted away, replaced by downtown LA at night.

Something was wrong though, and the hair on the back of Daniel's neck rose until he worked it out, "The lights are out."

"Where is everyone?" said Sam, pulling her infra-red goggles down over her eyes.

"I see movement," warned Teal'c.

"Where?" asked Sam. "I don't see anything."

"Nevertheless," Teal'c told her. "Something _is_ moving."

**l**

**_Testing... One, two, three._**

Buffy winced. _Ow_**,** she thought, adding her complaint to the loud chorus of others in her head. _Little loud, Will._

_**Oops..**. Sorry,_ Willow apologised. _Better?_

"Much," Buffy said out loud to her friend. "Dawn? How's the portal coming?"

"On it," Dawn replied, drawing a large circle in the air with her bloody finger. "LA," she said and the air rippled greenly, becoming an aerial view of LA at night. "Okay..." said Dawn, sticking her finger in her mouth and sucking on it. "Where do you wanna be dropped off?" she mumbled around her injured appendage.

"Power's out there," said Xander, pointing to a dark section of the city. "Might be a good place to start looking."

"Ooh!" exclaimed Willow. "That's where the Hyperion is. Try there!"

Dawn concentrated and the portal blurred, acquiring a green shimmer. "I can't get you all the way there," she said slowly, frowning. "But I can get you close."

"Good enough," said Faith. "Let's go!"

Buffy hugged her sister tightly as Faith led the charge through the portal. "Call Giles and let him know what's going on," she instructed. "And don't forget the-"

"Bandages," Dawn chorused with her. "I know. Now go."

"Love you," Buffy told her before she stepped into the portal.


	3. The Best Defence

**A/N:**

This time _Italics_ are used solely for _telepathic speech_. Let me know what you think of the story so far. :)

Enjoy!

**3/14 ~ The Best Defence**

The night vision goggles didn't help. SG-1, 3 and 11 pressed on towards the epicentre of the invasion without them. Their progress was slow; they were hampered by the dark and by occasional attacks from aliens. But they weren't like any aliens Sam had ever seen. That first one... he had looked human, but he had been cold and his face had twisted and even after Sam had shot him he'd kept moving until Teal'c shot him with his staff weapon. Then, against all the known laws of physics, he'd turned into dust.

There had been more like him. And others, that were... worse. Sam shuddered but kept moving. If she made it out of LA, she'd have nightmares for years. Negative thinking, she chided herself. The General would pull them out if it went south. He had their six.

Ahead, fire billowed out, illuminating the battle they faced. It was like a scene from hell. Twisted shapes fought each other to be first to reach a narrow alleyway. And hovering above it all...

"Holy Hannah," breathed Sam as Teal'c's eyes lit up.

"Am I seeing things, or is that a dragon?" Daniel asked casually.

"That's a dragon," confirmed Sam, staring at it.

"Ah," said Daniel. "Thought so. Can I just say, we're all going to – Teal'c?" Daniel broke off as the Jaffa began to lope towards the battle, an unholy grin on his face as he stared up at the dragon.

"Teal'c!" shouted Sam. "Wait!"

Unfortunately, all her shouts did was attract the attention of several nearby aliens.

"Crap," said Daniel.

**l**

As soon as Faith's feet hit the asphalt, she started running, following her senses towards the battle around the corner. Leading the pack of slayers, she skidded to a halt as she caught her first sight of the besieged Hyperion. Slowly, she grinned. This looked like a fight to rival Sunnydale and as far as she was concerned, if she went down saving Angel's life, at least that was one debt paid. The other slayers clustered around her.

"Dragon's mine," Faith told them, hefting the troll hammer she'd borrowed from Buffy thoughtfully. _B?_ she thought.

_On my way,_ said B.

_It's bad._

_How bad?_

_Bad._

_Kick ass._

_Already takin' names,_ Faith mentally replied, while mashing a polgara demon's head with the troll hammer. She was keepin' a close eye on the dragon.

**l**

"General O'Neill?" Markssaid quietly. "Sir, we're detecting a build up of energy in the area."

"How big?" Jack asked him.

"Big, sir," he reported.

"Pull 'em out when it reaches critical levels," Jack ordered, his gaze locked on the view of America's dark Western seaboard visible out of the window. Dawn was racing across the Earth to reach America, but it wasn't due to arrive for another couple of hours.

**l**

_Guys,_ said Willow, inside the slayers heads. _Something's coming._

_What is it?_ asked Buffy.

_Something big,_Willow warned them.

_Good or bad, Red?_ Faith demanded impatiently, seeing a clear path to the dragon.

_I can't see!_Willow panicked and Faith took her shot at the dragon, sprinting towards it. _There's too much darkness!_

_Focus, Wills,_soothed Xander. _You can do this._

At the last possible second before Faith could stop, a dark haired figure flew out of the crowd, his black coat rippling behind him as he landed on the dragon's back. Faith hit the brakes, twisting her body to slow down her momentum, grinning madly at the sight of the champion.

"Angel!" she yelled.

His head turned.

So did the dragon's.

_It's bad,_announced Willow, her voice in Faith's head filled with dread. _Definitely bad!_

Faith gulped as the dragon's belly swelled ominously and its head reared back. She could see the look of horror on Angel's face as he fought to stop it. Her free hand moved towards the glowing amulet hung around her neck.

A ton of bricks hit her from the side and Faith lost her grip on the troll hammer as her surroundings blurred and altered, becoming somewhere else. She managed to adjust her fall before she hit the deck, rolling easily to her feet as people hurriedly moved out of her way. The demon that had teleported her here was almost as quick to get to his, but Faith had the edge on him. She punched him square in the face and he crumpled. Stepping back, Faith got her first look at what was in front of her. Earth. Half lit, half not.

"What the fuck?" she breathed quietly, spellbound.

There was an electrical sound behind her and what felt like a thousand volts hit her in the back. "Oww," Faith complained as her limbs stopped working.

"Jack..." said a male voice.

"Daniel," replied another.

"Did you have to shoot her?" the first man asked irritably.

"Yes," said Jack. "Yes, I did."

_Retreat,_ Willow ordered inside Faith's head. _We have to retreat!_

Faith tried desperately to make her arms work. To reach her amulet.

"Uh, she's moving," pointed out Daniel.

"I see that, Daniel."

Jack sounded pissed off, thought Faith. Good. That was her last conscious thought before another thousand volts hit her.


	4. Leaving LA

**A/N:**

And the telepathic speech is all done now. :) _Italics_ go back to merely emphasising a word.

With thanks to the RevDorothyL, who not only spotted that a) Jack should have been looking at the _Western_ seaboard, but also b) it was night-time, in the last chapter. I've since edited that. Thanks Dorothy! :D

Enjoy!

**Leaving LA**

**l**

The castle hall was bedlam when Buffy arrived back. There were slayers and weapons scattered everywhere. Most of them seemed to be intact. Buffy had just started a headcount when Dawn popped up at her elbow, the portable phone held in her outstretched hand.

"Giles wants to talk to you," her little sister smirked, handing her the phone.

Sometimes, Buffy could cheerfully murder her, she thought as she held the phone to her ear. "Hi Giles," she sighed.

"Buffy?" said Giles. "I cannot believe you would abuse your sister's abilities to abandon her and run off to LA!"

"Now's really not the best time, Giles," Buffy told him, picking her way across the hall to where Xander was making a list of who needed to go to hospital and who would be okay if they patched them up here. "We just got back."

"I thought we all agreed that the safest thing for us to do was to keep our distance from Angel until he showed his true colours?" reproached Giles.

"We were wrong, Giles," Buffy said bluntly. "Angel took down the Blackbird Ring tonight."

There was a long pause from Giles' end of the line. "Do you mean, the Black Thorn Circle?" he asked carefully.

Buffy shrugged, "Sounds familiar."

"I see," said Giles and Buffy could practically hear him polishing his glasses. "This changes everything..."

"Giles, I've really gotta go figure out what just happened," Buffy told him, catching sight of Willow huddled in a corner, staring into space. "I'll call you later."

She hung up before he could object, heading over to Willow. She eased herself down next to the red-headed witch, sitting close enough to touch her.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

"It swallowed them," Willow said in a small frightened voice. She started to rock back and forth. "It was so dark and evil... and it swallowed them up... I couldn't stop it. It swallowed them up."

"Willow?" Buffy said gently, seriously worried about her friend. "It's okay."

"I couldn't stop it," Willow whispered, turning her face towards Buffy.

Buffy flinched as she caught sight of Willow's haunted eyes, "It's not your fault."

"It swallowed them," Willow told her brokenly.

"I know," said Buffy. What had it done to Willow?

"It smothered me," Willow confided vaguely. "I'll be fine. All I need is rest. It's not me you should feel sorry for. I'll recover."

"They won't?" whispered Buffy, fighting off the urge to break down in tears.

"It _ate_ them!" Willow told her.

**l**

"I don't care if he's busy, I need to talk to him," Jack was arguing into his red phone when Daniel stuck his head round his office door. He pulled it back, intending to catch Jack at better time but he was too late. Jack had already seen him.

"Daniel!" he called. "Come in! I wanna talk to you." Jack turned his attention back to whoever was making the President's excuses as Daniel entered his office, sitting down and waiting patiently. "Listen, do you know what colour my phone is? It's red. It's red because it puts me straight through the President. Now put him on!" Jack suddenly hung up. "He put me on hold," he told Daniel. "I hate hold music."

"You wanted to see me," Daniel prompted as Jack continued to stare at him.

"Ah, yes!" said Jack, snapping his fingers and leaning back in his chair. "How's our guest? Comfortable, I hope."

"If by comfortable you mean stripped of her possessions, unconscious and strapped to a bed, yes," Daniel told him. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about her..."

"Doctor Warner's preliminary report suggests that she's human," Jack talked over him.

"I've read it," Daniel said tightly. "Jack..."

"He does want to run some more tests though," Jack frowned, searching through the mess of paperwork on his desk for the bit he wanted. "Apparently she's got an abnormally high Ancient gene or something like that. Sam's looking into that glowing dohickey she was wearing while Walter's does some research on her background. The clothes she was wearing came from Earth so we figure she might have left a paper trail."

"Jack," Daniel said through gritted teeth.

"As you can probably tell, the President's stonewalling me," Jack told him. "Suddenly I'm not cleared to know what really went down in LA."

"I thought your clearance was higher than the President's?" Daniel allowed himself to be temporarily diverted. "Technically."

"Not right now it isn't," scowled Jack. "I've gotta call Hammond. He might be able to patch me through to the President."

"Jack, you can't hold her like this!" Daniel's objection burst out of him. "She's done nothing wrong!"

"Daniel, she KO'ed Teal'c!" shouted Jack. "She was at the scene of a possible foothold! It took two zat blasts to knock her out! I'm sure she's done _something_ wrong!"

"What did Teal'c say?" Daniel asked calmly.

"He wants a rematch," Jack quickly snapped back.

"Jack..." Daniel said, looking steadily at him.

"He said she was a fearless warrior," Jack reluctantly admitted. "And he wants a rematch. But that doesn't mean she's innocent!"

"It doesn't make her guilty, either," Daniel pointed out.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Jack told him. "Doctor Warner says she'll be out for most of the day. By that time, hopefully Walter'll have dug up some information on her and the President will be taking my calls. So your point is moot," said Jack. "Moot, I tell you."

"Uh, Jack," said Daniel, his eyes on the large monitor set up in the briefing room. "It might not be as moot as you think."

Jack looked over just as their guest broke her wrist cuffs. "Ah, for crying out loud," he groaned, pushing the intercom on his desk. "Walter, lock down levels fifteen, sixteen and seventeen."

"Yes, sir," replied Walter and the red light on the wall behind Jack switched on, revolving slowly.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Daniel as Jack stood up, heading for the door.

"Daniel, those are the cuffs we use on Teal'c," Jack explained it to him patiently as they moved through the base, "Think of it as a precaution."


	5. Conscious

**A/N:**

Oops... fell asleep and almost missed a day! Here's the chapter!

Enjoy!

**Conscious**

**l**

Faith was walking through the halls of the Hyperion hotel, Angel by her side. They walked in silence, something that they were both comfortable with, as they inspected the premises. Behind them, Faith could hear the heavy tread of the dragon that followed them and occasionally she would feel a blast of hot air on her back. Angel looked good. Like he had before he'd moved to LA and got that hopeless dead look in the back of his soft brown eyes.

"Place looks good," she said eventually.

"Yeah," sighed Angel.

"You should be proud," Faith told him. "You worked hard."

"I tried my best," Angel said, looking broody. "Don't know if it was good enough."

"It was," Faith told him sincerely.

Angel stopped walking, looking her straight in the eyes. "Faith..." he said seriously, opening his mouth to continue.

The dragon ate him.

"Angel!" Faith screamed, her eyes snapping open and her body straining as she tried to sit bolt upright in bed.

Thick straps across her torso, wrists, legs and ankles prevented her. Faith easily snapped the wrist ones, giving her enough leverage unbuckle the rest. They were fancy restraints, made for something stronger than your average human. Not a good sign.

Hopping off the bed, Faith assessed her surroundings. The room was painted in gunship grey, with mirrors placed high up on the wall. Presumably they were two-way 'cause Faith couldn't see any other point in having them that high. There was a door recessed behind her in the wall on her right. It didn't have a handle. Beside her bed against one wall, someone had set up a table and chairs in the middle of the room. Maybe they'd been planning on untying her. They'd taken away her clothes, amulet and weapons and dressed her in badly-fitting navy blue overalls. B would've had a fit.

The whole pace looked ridiculously easy to break out of but Faith hesitated. Something told her it wouldn't be as simple as it seemed. It wasn't just the matrix moment earlier when her surroundings had suddenly changed. Or the glimpse of Earth she'd got just before Jack, whoever he was, had tasered her. It was the stale taste of the air, the sound of machinery in the background, the red flashing light on the wall that had come when she was unbuckling the straps, the smells of grease, metal and electricity, the camera mounted high on the concrete wall...

Faith flipped it the bird, hopping back up on the hospital bed and waiting. Where was the demon who'd brought her here? Could she really be on a spaceship? With concrete walls? And where did Daniel and Jack fit into things? She didn't have long to wait.

"Morning," Jack's voice echoed around the room.

Faith scowled up at the mirrors, "Is it?" They'd taken her watch, a Christmas present from Robin.

"Technically."

That was Daniel. So they were both up there. Was anyone else? Faith's Slaydar was picking up on a vague badness but it wasn't close at the moment. Did that make them human? Working with a demon?

"You wanna explain what you were doing in LA?" Jack asked irritably immediately after Daniel had spoken.

Faith shrugged, mentally away filing the information that they weren't in LA anymore. She'd kinda figured it out earlier, but it was good to be sure.

"You must have been doing something," Daniel said smoothly.

So it was gonna be good cop, bad cop. Too bad that Faith had figured out long ago that you scratched the surface of any cop, you were gonna find bad underneath. Too bad for them anyway.

"Went for a walk," she lied.

"Aw, for crying out loud!" Jack's distant explosion didn't come from the PA system but Faith heard it anyway through the glass. She smirked. "You can do better than that," he told her over the PA system.

"What's your name?" asked Daniel.

"Jane," Faith lied, fighting back another smirk. "What's yours?"

"Last name?" demanded Jack.

"Doe."

Faith grinned as behind the glass, Jack started swearing. Lying back down on the bed, she propped her head on her hands, crossing her ankles. She could do this all day.

**l**

"Hey," said Xander, crouching down in front of Buffy.

Buffy looked up at him, continuing to stroke Willow's hair as the red-head slept, her head pillowed in Buffy's lap. The Slayer held a finger to her lips. "I just got her to sleep," she said quietly.

"We've got a problem," said Xander, his face serious.

"What?" asked Buffy, a pit of dread opening up in her stomach.

"We're missing an amulet," Xander told her.

"Who?" asked Buffy.

"We don't know," Xander admitted. "It was chaos after the retreat. Dawn was getting two, three amulets back at a time. We didn't get a chance to take a roll call. She's just left on the hospital run."

Buffy looked around the castle hall. It was deserted now, cluttered by discarded weapons left over from the battle. She'd have to have a word with the slayers about tidying up their toys, she thought absently as she pictured the room as it had been when she had arrived back. Pandemonium, she remembered.

"Where's Faith?" she asked herself, holding the picture of the room in her mind.

"I haven't seen her..." Xander's eye locked with hers, the horror in it matching hers.


	6. Polite Conversation

**6/14 ~ Polite Conversation**

**l**

Daniel grinned as he looked down on the dark-haired woman in blue overalls relaxing on the bed in the room below. Beside him, Jack was on the verge of an apoplectic fit, induced by her flippant replies to his questions.

"You know," Daniel said quietly. "She kind of reminds me of Vala."

"Vala?" asked Jack, successfully distracted. "That woman who hijacked the Prometheus? And you!"

"Yeah," Daniel's lips curved as he remembered the incident. "They're both terrible liars."

"You said she was crazy," Jack pointed out.

"This one seems less nuts," reassured Daniel.

"Are we done with the twenty questions, boys?" she suddenly asked them. "'Cause, I gotta tell ya, I'm wicked hungry in here."

"Really?" Jack asked him. "Less nuts, you say?"

The door to the observation room opened and the woman's head twitched at exactly the same time. Daniel frowned, continuing to watch her as whoever it was bounded up the steps and into the room.

"Sir," reported Walter. "I thought you'd want to see this."

"Thanks, Walter," said Jack and pages ruffled. "Her name's Faith Lehane," he told Daniel. "Born in Boston... She's an _escaped convict_?!" he yelled.

In the room below, the woman apparently called Faith frowned. Daniel frowned with her, "Jack..."

"Apparently, sir," Walter said quietly.

"Double homicide, Danny!" Jack shouted. "She broke out last year!"

"Jack," Daniel warned as Faith stood up, looking up at the mirrored wall.

"She smashed through _bulletproof_ glass?" Jack questioned Walter.

"Jack!" Daniel shouted.

"What?" snapped Jack, looking at him.

Daniel was looking at Faith, looking straight at Jack. "She can hear you," he told him quietly.

"What?" asked Jack, looking down. Straight into Faith's eyes.

"You wanna throw stones, _Jack_?" she said acidly. "Let's talk about who's kidnapped who."

"So, now you wanna talk?" Jack asked her, using the intercom.

"I'm done talking to mirrors," Faith told him, sitting down in a chair at the table, her back to them. "You wanna talk to me? Get your ass down here," she advised, propping her bare feet up on the table. "Bring Daniel. Heck, bring the demon who grabbed me for all I care."

"Demon?" asked Jack, confused.

"She must mean Teal'c," Daniel said when Faith refused to reply.

"I got that," Jack told him. "Thanks. Come on."

"General," objected Walter as they headed for the door. "You're not really going in there, are you?"

"If she can break through bulletproof glass, then she could have been in here any time she wanted," Jack pointed out. "Lock the door behind you, Walter, and post two airmen."

**l**

"She's not dead," Buffy announced triumphantly as she walked into the main living room.

She stopped, staring. Xander was sat on the couch, watching CNN, the remote in one hand. His other hand was stroking Willow's back as she slept. She'd wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly even in her sleep.

"Great," said Xander, switching the TV off. "How do you know?"

"Apparently Dana's still... Dana-ey," Buffy told him with a grimace. "How's Willow?"

"Woke up screaming, latched onto me and won't let go," Xander summarised. "I managed to move her in here. Called Dawn, she's on her way back. She says she can recall the amulet, no need to wake Wills up."

"Good," sighed Buffy, dropping down on the other end of the couch. "What does CNN say?"

"Not a lot," said Xander. "Same as the rest. National Guard called into riots in LA. No footage available yet. Stay in your homes if you live in the area."

"How much longer 'til the cover story comes out?" Buffy wondered.

"Give it a couple of hours," Xander said cynically. "You realise, someone needs to tell Robin."

"Uhh..." Buffy whined as she got up. "Can't I just stay here and watch CNN?"

"Ahh, the perils of being Head Slayer..." sympathised Xander.

Buffy pouted, "Stupid title!"

**l**

Faith looked up from her nails as the door to her cell slid open. That hadn't taken long, she thought. And _hello_ Silver Fox! The man standing in the doorway might have been grey-haired, but he was still hot. Shame about the uniform. Faith didn't get up as he entered the room, a watcher-type following him. Faith blinked. She didn't know they made geeks that hot in the Armed Forces. Damn...

"Better?" snarked the silver fox, Jack, as the door slid shut behind them. Not before Faith had caught a glimpse of hallway, and guards.

"What, no small talk?" drawled Faith, deliberately at her most sultry. "Damn, if you two aren't a recruitment poster for signing up, I don't know what is..." The geek-type, probably Daniel, blinked as Jack cleared his throat.

"Um, hi," said the geek, and it was Daniel. "I'm Daniel Jackson, and this is-"

"General O'Neill," Jack growled, sitting down opposite Faith as he introduced himself.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Daniel said to her, sitting down as he glared at Jack.

Jack ignored him, concentrating on Faith. "You ready to talk about what happened in LA?" he demanded.

"All I know is, I'm minding my own business when your pet demon hits me from the side," Faith told him.

"Actually, not a demon," said Daniel.

It was Faith's turn to ignore him, "One Matrix-moment later, I'm staring at Earth through a window so I figure what happened is probably one of three things. One," she held up a finger. "The Matrix is real and you guys pulled me out. Two," she held up another finger, glaring at Jack as he opened his mouth. "You beamed me up to your spaceship. Now," she said as they glanced at each other. "Both of those are ridiculous and would mean that I owe Andrew five bucks so I'm inclined to go with option three."

"Which is?" asked Daniel as she held up a third finger.

"Judging by the uniforms, you're part of some sort of Initiative-type project, maybe even funded by Wolfram and Hart and responsible for LA," explained Faith. "In which case you're in way over your heads."

"Oh, really?" Jack asked sarcastically.

Daniel frowned, "Initiative?"

"You have no idea of the world of hurt you're in for when B gets here and finds out what you're up to," Faith warned. "She'll shut you down. My advice? Walk away. While you still can."

"We can't do that," Daniel said sincerely.

"Who's B?" demanded Jack.

"Yeah, right," scoffed Faith. "Like you don't know!"

"We don't," Daniel told her.

"And if it turns out you _were_ involved in what went down in LA..." Faith said seriously, sitting up straight and somehow managing to look both of them in the eye. "I'll take you down myself."

"You don't scare me," Jack told her.

Daniel gulped. "Seriously?" he asked him quietly. "She doesn't?"

"Nope," said Jack, setting his jaw.

"I should, _General_ Jack," Faith sneered, leaning forward with a predatory look in her eyes. "After all, it's your neck on the line. You keep me locked up much longer, B's gonna come down on you like a shitload of bricks."


	7. Now You See Him

**7/14 ~ Now You See Him...**

**l**

Jack was perplexed. It was a feeling he was used to and, by long association, one he was most comfortable experiencing around Carter. It wasn't his brilliant blonde second-in-command that was causing the sensation this time though, although his feet were carrying him in her direction, it was a black-haired woman currently locked up several levels above him that was perplexing him.

Unsurprisingly, Daniel and Teal'c had gathered in Carter's lab as well while Carter ran her tests on Faith's necklace whatcha-ma-call-it. The hot topic of conversation was, surprise, surprise, Faith.

"I believe her to be sincere in her belief that this B will not be pleased with her incarceration," Teal'c was saying solemnly. "As I am not. From what I have observed, Faith Lehane is an honourable warrior."

"She's a murderer, Teal'c," Carter reminded him as she tinkered with her new toy. "She pleaded guilty at her trial."

"As I said," Teal'c rumbled, inclining his head. "She is honourable. What of this Wolf, Hart and Ram she mentioned? And the Initiative project?"

"It's Wolfram and Hart," Daniel corrected. "It's an international law firm, apparently. Jack's got Walter looking for any records of an Initiative project."

"What did she say after that?" Sam asked him curiously.

"Well..." Daniel sighed. "After she warned us that keeping her prisoner was only going to attract this mysterious B's attention, she refused to say anything else."

"Warned?" Jack objected from the doorway. "Threatened more like."

"Sir," Carter greeted, turning to face him.

"Carter," replied Jack. "Whadda ya got?"

"Nothing, sir," said Carter, and he could hear the frustration in her voice.

"Huh," said Jack. It wasn't often Carter said that.

"I've been trying to isolate the power source," she explained as he sauntered into the room.

"And...?" Jack encouraged when she fell silent.

"I can't find one," admitted Carter.

"But it's glowing," Jack pointed out.

"Yes, sir," Carter agreed.

"Have you tried taking it apart?" Jack suggested, picking it up for a closer look.

"I didn't want to do that without isolating the power source first," she told him.

"Which you can't find?"

"No."

"Even though it glows?"

"Yes."

"Well," said Jack, looking down at it, the glowing stone in the centre held in the palm of his hand. "It's shi-" A flash of bright green light from the amulet interrupted him and Jack screwed up his eyes as SG-1 looked away. "-Ny," he finished, unscrewing his eyes.

He wasn't in the SGC anymore. He wasn't even sure if he was still in Colorado. Where he was, was stood in the centre of a large stone hall, surrounded by beautiful women holding medieval weapons. Jack blinked, pinching himself.

"Ouch," he said. Not a dream. Then how had he ended up in Castle Anthrax? And why did the blonde with the red axe-thing look familiar?

"That's not Faith," said the young brunette directly in front of him, her blue doe eyes wide as she backpedalled away from him.

"He's got her amulet," said a one-eyed man Jack hadn't noticed before. He straightened away from the wall he'd been leaning against when Jack looked at him, picking up a nearby axe.

"What the hell?" Jack said, looking around the room. "What happened!"

"That's what we want to know," said the blonde, stroking her weapon as she approached him. "Where's Faith?"

"Who the hell are you people?" Jack demanded.

The blonde punched him.

"Oops," said Buffy, looking down at the unconscious man on her floor. "Didn't mean to hit him that hard. Oh, well. Give him one of Willow's truth potions when he wakes up, that should make him more willing to give us some answers. Until then, what do we know?"

"He's military," Dawn said immediately.

"A Brigadier General," Xander informed them. "Air Force. I recognise the insignia."

"So Faith's with the Air Force?" said Buffy. "Why am I thinking that's not willingly?"

"Because Faith hates flying?" Xander suggested. "Right. Rhetorical question."

"What does the Air Force want with Faith?" asked Dawn, frowning.

Buffy looked down at the unconscious General lying on the stone floor, "I guess we'll find out..."

**l**

Faith was about ready to start eating her own foot if she didn't get some food soon. She was always starved after she'd slayed and the boredom was making things worse. Not that things were dull around here, what with the alarms and flashing lights that had gone off a while ago. That had got her all rattled up, thinkin' maybe it was B and the others. But apparently, whatever it was it was over, 'cause the alarms had stopped. The door opened, breaking into the monotony, and Faith looked up.

"Danny-boy!" she greeted him with a grin as he walked through the door, followed by a buttoned-up blonde woman. "And you brought company. Worried about your virtue?"

"Faith, this is Colonel Samantha Carter," Daniel introduced the blonde, his face serious. "We need to ask you some questions about your necklace."

"What about it?" Faith asked flippantly, although she was paying careful attention. Was that what the alarms had been about?

"How does it work?" asked the Colonel. "What does it do?"

"It disappeared, didn't it?" Faith said with a grin. "Take anyone with it?" Daniel and the Colonel shared a look and Faith's grin spread. "It did, didn't it!"

"Where did he go?" demanded the Colonel.

"He who?" asked Faith. "Wait a sec, where's General Jack? Wouldn't have thought he'd pass up an opportunity to make with the threats."

"You tell us," Daniel said coolly.

Faith began to laugh.


	8. Interrogation Techniques

**8/14 ~ Interrogation Techniques**

**l**

SG-1 met in the hallway outside Faith's cell. Sam was scowling in frustration and Daniel wasn't much happier as they stepped out of the room. Teal'c, coming from the observation room, was as impassive as always. They waited until Faith's door was shut before any of them spoke.

"Well?" Daniel asked Teal'c as soon as it had.

"She is stubborn, and astute," the Jaffa told his teammates. "She will not tell you anything, although she learns much from you."

"Great," said Sam.

"Also, she is extremely hungry," added Teal'c. Daniel and Sam stared at him and he explained, "She made repeated references to food in her threats."

"Inventive, weren't they?" Daniel grimaced.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"So now what?" asked Sam. "Walter's still searching for anything on this Initiative project and the Prometheus' scan of Earth is going to take some time."

"I would like to speak to her," Teal'c informed them. "Warrior to warrior."

Sam and Daniel looked at one another. Sam shrugged.

"Couldn't hurt," she said.

**l**

Buffy frowned as she stared at their prisoner, lolling in an armchair they'd brought down to the basement for him, his hands handcuffed in front of him. She really didn't want to know where Dawn had got the handcuffs from. Or why. In fact, she didn't even want to think about her little sister and handcuffs.

"You gave him the truth potion?" she checked with Xander.

"Poured it down his throat myself," he confirmed.

"And he still hasn't said anything?"

"Only his name, rank and serial number," Xander grimaced. "Over and over."

"Damn," said B, her lips pursing stubbornly. "He's good."

Walking forward, she nudged the prisoner with her foot. "Hey!" she said. "Where's Faith?"

"Brigadier General..." he slurred, rolling his head to face her and opening his eyes. He frowned. "I know you..."

"Really?" Buffy's eyebrows arched. "Because I'm pretty sure we've never met."

"How do I know you?" he asked her, looking puzzled.

"Why don't you tell me?" Buffy suggested, crossing her arms.

He shook his head from side to side, like a dog, and then focussed back on her. "Brigadier General Jack O'Neill," he told her hoarsely. "Two l's. Six nine, four, one four one."

"Look on the bright side, Buff," suggested Xander. "At least you got him to say something else. Just for a little while at least."

"Keep trying," Buffy told him. "I'm going to see if Dawn's managed to hack into the Pentagon yet."

**l**

Faith felt him coming. She'd felt him before, from a distance and up close and personal in the observation room behind the mirrors. So she knew it wasn't just him setting off her Slaydar. This time he came to her door. Faith head went up and she got to her bare feet, getting ready to fight. The door slid back, framing him as he stood in the hallway beyond, a cart filled with covered dishes in front of him. The smell of food reached Faith and her nose twitched as her mouth salivated. No fair!

"Wondered how long it'd be before they sicced you on me," Faith went on the attack.

He inclined his head. "I was about to eat lunch," he said evenly. "I wondered if you would care to join me."

"Depends," Faith said warily. "What're you planning on eating?"

One of his eyebrows rose. "May I come in?" he asked politely.

"Don't see anyone stoppin' ya," Faith told him.

He entered, pushing the food cart in front of him. Faith backed up, her eyes locked on the cart as her stomach grumbled loudly. The door slid shut as he calmly started setting two places at the table. Oh, he was good!

"What kinda demon _are_ you?" she found herself demanding.

He continued to lay out the dishes, uncovering a roast chicken as he replied calmly, "I am not a demon. I am Jaffa. My name is Teal'c."

"Okay, Mr T," Faith said, reluctantly drawn to the table as he took the cover off a large pie. She'd been wondering what the cream was for... "I'll bite. What's a Jaffa?"

"I believe that you would call us aliens," Teal'c said smoothly as he sat down at the table and Faith's jaw dropped. "Although, we are in fact descended from humans. Please, sit. Eat."

Faith sat, her jaw still open, automatically picking up her knife and fork.

"I do not blame you for General O'Neill's disappearance," Teal'c told her calmly, tearing a leg off the chicken. "Neither do Daniel Jackson or Colonel Carter in their hearts. They are merely concerned for O'Neill."

"Back it up," Faith said. "You're an alien?"

"I am," Teal'c admitted, bowing his head and smiling pleasantly at her.

"Working with the military?" checked Faith.

"Indeed."

"And the spaceship...?" Faith winced in anticipation.

"Is called the Prometheus," Teal'c informed her.

"Damn," said Faith, pulling off the chicken's remaining leg. "I owe Andrew five bucks."

"You do not appear overly surprised," observed Teal'c as she bit into the chicken.

Faith shrugged. "Military's worked with demons in the past, no surprise they'd work with aliens," she said around a mouthful of chicken. She swallowed, "Pissed off about the five bucks though."

"You are a powerful warrior," commented Teal'c. "I was fortunate enough to witness you battle in Los Angeles."

"Yeah, why were you there again?" Faith asked.

"We were investigating a potential foothold situation," Teal'c told her.

"Okay..." Faith said slowly, confused. "A what situation?"

"Reports reached us of a possible alien invasion," Teal'c elaborated. "I was attempting to slay the dragon when I first saw you."

"You saw dragon and thought alien invasion?" Faith said sceptically. "Wait, is that why you knocked me down?"

"You were about to be burned alive by the dragon," Teal'c informed her solemnly.

"No, I wasn't!" Faith snapped angrily. "I was reaching for my amulet. If you hadn't grabbed me, I'd be back at the castle by now!"

"Castle?" one of Teal'c's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward attentively. Faith scowled, looking away. "The Prometheus is scanning Earth for General O'Neill at this very moment. We will find him."

"Won't help," Faith's lips twisted bitterly. "Castle's wards are top-notch. B insisted."

"I am unfamiliar with that word," said Teal'c. "What are wards?"

"You'd probably call 'em shields," Faith sneered, tossing her half-eaten chicken leg on the table. "Suddenly, I've lost my appetite."

"Very well," said Teal'c, inclining his head. He stood, taking his plate with him.

She ate everything on the table once he'd gone.


	9. Revelation

**9/14 ~ Revelation**

**l**

"I see," Sam sighed into her phone. "Keep trying. Focus your search on castles.... Ten million, eight hundred and fifty two thousand, three hundred and eighty three and General O'Neill has to be in one of them... Thank you." Hanging up, she looked at Daniel and Teal'c, her eyes scared and her face weary. "The Prometheus' finished its scan," she told them. "They haven't found him."

"As Faith Lehane predicted," rumbled Teal'c impassively.

"Whatever kind of shields this castle's got, they're good," mused Sam.

"She called them wards..." Daniel said pensively.

"What is it?" Sam asked him. She recognised that look on his face. It was the look he got when he was trying to put his finger on a problem.

"It's just..." said Daniel. "Wards... Demons. She called her necklace an amulet... It's almost like she's from the Middle Ages."

"She was, in fact, born in nineteen eighty-three," Teal'c informed him, recalling the information from Faith's file with ease.

"Yes, thank you, I know that," Daniel said absently. "My point is... she believes in magic."

"Well, any technology, sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic, Daniel," Sam started to point out.

"On Earth?" Daniel questioned. "In the twenty-first century?"

"Are you suggesting that General O'Neill's disappearance was caused by magic?" asked Teal'c, raising both of his eyebrows.

"No," denied Daniel. "Yes. I don't know. She thinks it is though."

"I don't care how she did it," Sam told them. "I want to know where she sent General O'Neill."

"Maybe we should let her go," suggested Daniel.

"No!" Sam refused to consider it. "She's our only lead to the General."

"We could implant her with a GPS tracker," said Daniel. "Find out where she goes."

"Her destination is shielded," pointed out Teal'c.

"But at least we'd know where to start looking," replied Daniel.

"I'm going to call General Hammond," Sam decided, picking up her telephone. The head of Homeworld Security needed to know what had happened and there was a chance he might have some useful information or advice.

"No need, Colonel," a familiar voice said from the doorway and they turned to stare. "I'm already here."

"General Hammond!" Sam greeted him with a delighted smile, hanging up her phone. "What are you doing here?"

"The SGC's been making some interesting enquiries recently," Hammond said with a frown. "I thought I'd find out why. Where's Jack?"

"Uh..." said Sam.

"He's not here right now," Daniel told the General.

"Well, where is he?" demanded Hammond.

"He, sort of... disappeared?" offered Daniel with a wince.

Hammond went red, "What do you mean, _disappeared_?"

"Well, he was holding Faith's amulet at the time, sir," Sam started to explain. "And-"

"Faith?" Hammond interrupted her, turning purple. A look of dread entered his eyes and then he chased it away, demanding suspiciously, "Who's Faith?"

"Faith Lehane," Teal'c explained smoothly and General Hammond closed his eyes, the look of dread back in full force. "A human warrior of great skill. We encountered her in Los Angeles."

"General Hammond?" said Daniel, worried about him.

"Where is she now?" the General asked hoarsely, his eyes still shut and his colour faded.

"Locked in a cell on level sixteen," Sam informed him immediately, puzzled by his behaviour. He paled further, opening his eyes. "General?"

"Let her go," General Hammond said quietly.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Let her go!" ordered Hammond. "Now."

"Not that I'm not all in favour of that plan," said Daniel. "But why?"

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Hammond informed them coldly. "Think yourselves lucky she didn't take it into her head to leave! And what the hell were you doing in LA? Jack's orders were to monitor the situation, not investigate it!"

Turning on his heel, he marched out of the room, leaving a shell-shocked SG-1 behind him. For about two seconds. Then they rushed after him.

**l**

Jack focussed blearily on his captors. The familiar blonde and the pirate were talking quietly in the corner, glancing over at him frequently. Whatever they'd given him was starting to wear off now and he was hoping they hadn't noticed. Wasn't about time SG-1 beamed in?

The door opened instead and a petite red-haired woman walked into the room, shutting it behind her. Jack frowned. Where did he know her from?

"Wills!" greeted the pirate. "You're up! How you feeling?"

"I've been better," the red-head told him with a shaky smile. "Dawnie filled me in. Has he said anything?"

"Only his name, rank and serial number," the Pirate said irritably.

"And that he _knows_ me," added the blonde.

"Huh," said the redhead, frowning, and Jack suddenly realised why she looked so familiar. Why they all did. "Weird... Ooh, maybe maybe he knows you from the Initiative!"

"Never met him," the blonde told her, shrugging.

"There were cameras all over that place," the pirate reminded them. "He could have seen footage."

"No, that doesn't work," the redhead frowned. "Because then he'd recognise Xander and me too from the whole spell to defeat Adam and the fight to get out and he doesn't recognise us, does he?"

Jack bit back the answer that was threatening to escape as the pirate shook his head, choking out his serial number instead. They turned to stare at him, the blonde's eyebrows arched. The pirate folded his arms, glaring at Jack.

"Well?" asked the redhead, a resolved look on her face. "Do you?"

Jack tried not to answer her. He really did. Against his will, his mouth opened... "Brigadier General Jack O'Neill," he gasped, unable to break eye contact. "Two l's."

"Answer me!" the redhead said firmly, her green eyes darkening as they bore deep into his head.

"Wills..." the pirate said gently.

"Yeah, I know you!" the truth burst from Jack's lips. He laughed bitterly before he admitted, "I dreamed you were a ghost once..."

"What?" asked the blonde, looking confused.

"You were a brunette," Jack told her wearily. "And you," he said, looking the pirate straight in the eye. "You were me."

"Ah, crap," cried the pirate, his arms falling to his sides. "We kidnapped Soldier Guy!"

**l**

Sensing Teal'c's approach, Faith was waiting for him when they entered her cell, a bald guy in a snazzy uniform she hadn't seen before in front. They were all with him, Carter and Danny-boy as well as Teal'c. She stood up slowly, giving the new guy a onceover.

"Miss Lehane," he launched into speech immediately. "On behalf of the President, I'd like to apologise."

"The President, huh?" Faith said sceptically. "Get outta here."

"You are, of course, free to leave whenever you wish," the new guy assured her.

"This a trick?" Faith asked suspiciously.

"No," Daniel told her. "Still not sure on the why, but it's true."

"What about my stuff?" Faith wanted to know.

"You can have it back," the new guy said immediately.

"Except for your necklace," rumbled Teal'c. "That disappeared with General O'Neill."

"Your scans pick him up yet?" asked Faith.

"Not yet," Carter admitted through gritted teeth.

"Sucks to be you," commented Faith. She looked the newcomer in the eyes, "So what's your name?"

"General Hammond," he introduced himself. "Head of Homeworld Security."

"You know who I am?" she asked, mentally filing away the mention of a Homeworld Security as something for the watchers to investigate later. "What I am?"

"I do," he confirmed.

"Then you _know_ I got questions about this place," she told him. "An' I won't be the only one askin'."

General Hammond nodded. "Give her the tour," he ordered. "I need to call the President."

"Still... not sure on the why..." Daniel sighed quietly to himself as General Hammond left the room.

As one, SG-1 turned to face Faith, formerly their captive and now suddenly, mysteriously, a VIP. Faith grinned up at them and Daniel suddenly shuddered as he flashed back to the look on Vala's face right before she'd headbutted him onboard the Prometheus. Satisfaction with a hint of smugness, like a cat who'd just got the cream or, possibly, the canary.

"So!" Faith cracked her knuckles, still grinning. "Tell me everything."

"Faith Lehane," Teal'c beamed at her as her grin fell away. "Welcome to Stargate Command."

"It's just Faith, T," Faith told him. "Let's start with the basics. Where are we? And please don't say the moon 'cos then I'd owe Andrew another five bucks."

"Colorado," Teal'c informed her. "Beneath Cheyenne Mountain."

"Hey," Sam said softly, smiling at Faith. "Now that we're friends and all, how 'bout you tell us where the General is?"

"General H?" asked Faith. "He said he had to call the President. Personally, I'm thinkin' he just wanted to duck out on the explanations."

"I meant General O'Neill," Sam said through her forced smile.

"Got that," Faith told her. She shrugged, "I dunno... Is Scotland part of England or not?"

"Jack's in Scotland?" Daniel perked up immediately, straightening and exchanging glances with Teal'c as Sam rushed to the phone to inform the Prometheus to concentrate their search on Scotland.

"Okay," Faith said to Daniel, folding her arms. "I told you what you wanted to know, now it's your turn to talk... What does Stargate Command do?"

"We explore other worlds and cultures, through an alien device we call the Stargate, obtaining new technologies where possible to help us defend the Earth against attack," Daniel informed her succinctly as Sam rejoined them.

Faith's jaw dropped. She'd landed in an episode of Andrew's favourite sci-fi show? Damn... there went another five bucks.


	10. Cavalry

**10/14 ~ Cavalry**

**l**

Apparently, being Soldier Guy, whatever that was, meant that they weren't going to drug him anymore which was good. The last of what they'd given him had thankfully worn off after he'd confessed his long-ago dream, meaning that he'd refused too say any more and the world was starting to feel real to him again. They'd all moved to a library. The blonde and the redhead, Buffy and Willow, were hunched over an atlas at the other end of the room while the pirate, Xander, kept a close eye on Jack, holding a large axe in his relaxed hands with an ease that suggested long familiarity.

"How much do you remember?" he asked suddenly. "From the dream?"

"Bits and pieces," Jack shrugged. "You?"

"Same," said Xander. "Basic training, Iraq... a weird gold pyramid landing in the desert." Jack tried not to wince. "You wanna explain that last one?"

"It's classified," Jack told him as Willow started to mutter in a foreign language, her hands held palm down above the book.

"Figured as much," shrugged Xander.

"Nice try," Jack comforted.

"Worth a shot," said Xander as Willow's hands started to glow.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Jack, straightening up to get a better look. The light faded, leaving a small spot on the pages open in front of Willow glowing brightly.

"Colorado," Buffy announced as Willow stopped chanting and it faded.

"Who _are_ you people?" demanded Jack.

"We're your worst nightmare," Xander reminded him as the girls started rifling through the pages of the atlas again. "Remember?"

"I never said you were my worst," Jack said irritably as Willow started chanting again. "Don't think you're my worst! Freakiest, maybe," he admitted as Willow's hands started to glow again.

"Thanks," said Xander. "I think."

"Cheyenne Mountain," announced Buffy.

"Crap," Xander scowled. "NORAD."

"Seriously!" Jack exclaimed. "Who are you?"

"Alert the slayers," ordered Buffy. "We hit 'em hard, we hit 'em fast. Non-lethal force only so tell them to leave the weapons at home. Where's Dawn?"

"What?" demanded Jack, his heart suddenly cold.

"Wasn't she trying to hack into the Pentagon?" Xander asked as the door opened and the doe-eyed brunette who he hadn't dreamed about before rushed into the room. "Ah! Speak of the devil!"

"Buffy!" she gasped. "There's a helicopter landing on the lawn!"

Jack smirked. At last. The cavalry.

**l**

Their story made her head spin. Aliens, invasions and technology... Faith kept her mouth shut and listened closely. She might not understand everything they said but, damn! They'd kept this secret for eight years? The tour ended in the 'Gateroom. After all the hype, the Stargate was almost a letdown.

"What do you think?" Daniel asked eagerly, his eyes anxious.

"It's big," allowed Faith, grateful that she'd gotten the chance to change back into her own clothes. "Kinda shiny. And you guys use it to explore other planets?"

"Yup," said Carter, smiling fondly as she looked up at it.

"Wormhole X-Treme is real?"

"Technically," Daniel admitted through gritted teeth.

"So I owe Andrew another five bucks?"

"Indeed."

"And you've been fighting evil snake aliens for the last eight years?"

"Coming up nine now, actually" Daniel informed her. "Ten, if you include the first mission to Abydos."

"Damn..." Faith said respectfully. "How's that workin' out for ya?"

"Uh..." Daniel said. "Surprisingly well, actually. We recently defeated the Replicators..."

"Sounds nasty," commented Faith.

"My people have rebelled against the Goa'uld and formed the Free Jaffa Nation on Dakara," Teal'c informed her.

"Good for them," Faith encouraged.

"We've managed to establish regular contact with Atlantis," added Carter.

"Atlantis?" Faith asked, startled.

"An Ancient city-ship in the Pegasus galaxy," Daniel explained. "We sent an expedition there a year ago."

"_The_ Atlantis?" Faith asked, double-checking.

"Well, it was on the ocean seabed when they arrived," said Carter, her eyes dancing.

"No way!" said Faith.

"It's true," Daniel told her with a smile.

"You're shitting me!"

"We are not," rumbled Teal'c.

"Damn..." mused Faith. "Wicked cool!"

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Faith asked them. There was a startled silence from SG-1.

"I guess... we haven't really thought about it," Daniel said eventually.

"The Goa'uld still need defeating once and for all," Teal'c pointed out.

"There's still an awful lot we don't know," said Carter.

"Hey, didn't mean to put you on the spot," apologised Faith. "Guess I really should get going, anyway. Gotta call off the cavalry before it arrives, y'know?"

"Not really," admitted Daniel.

"That's it?" Carter burst out as she walked away from them. "No explanations? You don't even return General O'Neill? Nothing!"

"Trust me," said Faith, twisting round to face them as she kept walking. Backwards. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. And General Jack'll be back..."

"Faith," warned Daniel. "Watch-" Faith collided with something large, warm and squishy. That went 'oof'. Daniel winced. "Out," he finished.

"Sorry," Faith apologised to General Hammond. "Gotta learn to watch where I'm walking."

"How's the tour going?" wheezed General Hammond.

"Faith was just leaving," Daniel told him.

"Ah," said the General. "Actually I was hoping to have a word with Miss Lehane before she went."

She'd known it was too good to be true, thought Faith. "Long as you promise to stop calling me Miss Lehane," she said easily. "Makes me start looking round for my dead mother."

**l**

The cavalry was apparently a grey-haired guy wearing tweed. And glasses. Not that Jack had anything against glasses. One of his best friends wore glasses. Watching the way his captors quailed as the man approached, Jack grinned. Glasses were good.

"I knew I forgot something," Buffy whispered to her friends. "I was supposed to call him back..."

"Buffy!" he exclaimed as soon as he got in range. Apparently, the cavalry was also English. Jack's eyebrows rose as the man continued to speak, "What on Earth is happening? You don't answer any of my calls and then I get a phone call from a frantic Robin, telling me Faith never made it out of LA?"

"Oh, she made it out, Giles," Buffy said grimly. She'd produced her red almost-axe from somewhere and, worryingly, was stroking it. "She's currently being held in Cheyenne Mountain."

"Where?" asked Giles, frowning as he caught sight of Jack, still handcuffed. "And who's that?"

"NORAD, G-man," explained Xander. "And this is Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, two l's. Also known as Soldier Guy."

"Don't call me that," Giles chided, taking off his glasses to squint at Jack. "Soldier Guy?" he said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and polishing his glasses. "Good Lord."

"Quite," Jack said mockingly.


	11. We Didn't Mean to Summon a General

**11/14 ~ We Didn't Mean To Summon A General**

**l**

"However did he get here?" asked Giles.

"He was holding Faith's amulet when Dawn summoned it," Buffy told him. "We figure, he's probably in charge of the operation, but he's not talking."

"They drugged me," tattled Jack.

"One little truth potion!" admitted Xander, his fingers held close together to measure a miniscule amount. "All he'd say was his name, rank and serial number!"

"Knocked me out," Jack continued.

"Hey, _Giles_ can take hits harder than that," defended Buffy.

"Years of experience..." wearily sighed Giles.

"Hey!" objected Jack. "I have years of experience of being hit in the head!" He stopped talking, frowning as he realised what he'd just said.

"I don't doubt that," Giles said politely. "What has he said?"

"Name, rank, serial number," Xander ticked them off on his fingers.

"Lots of who the hell are you's..." said Buffy.

"Some what the hell is going on here's," Willow added guiltily.

"They've handcuffed me," Jack pointed out.

"How do you know he has Faith?" Giles asked patiently.

"He had her amulet," pointed out Buffy.

"It doesn't follow, therefore, that he has Faith," said Giles, popping his glasses back onto his face. "He may just have had her amulet."

"Thank you!" exclaimed Jack.

"Do you?" Giles asked him suddenly.

"Do I what?" asked Jack, looking innocent.

"Have Faith?" Giles asked, his face stern.

"Uh..." said Jack. "No?"

"Listen very closely," said Giles coldly, suddenly standing in Jack's personal space.

"I'm listening," Jack informed him.

"Faith and I may have had our differences in the past, but I consider her a daughter," Giles said, his British accent crisp. His eyes flickered over to Buffy and Willow. "One of several. Lie to me again about her whereabouts or wellbeing and I'll break your thumb. Every time you lie to me, I'll break another bone. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," replied Jack.

"Good," Giles said mildly, stepping away. "Now... Do you have Faith?"

"Dark-haired girl? Smart mouth?" Jack temporised. "Escaped convict?"

"That's our girl," Xander said proudly.

"How is she?" asked Giles.

"Last time I saw her?" said Jack. "Mouthing off threats. Pleasant girl. I can see who she gets it from."

"Definitely sounds like Faith," commented Buffy.

"What were you doing to her?" Giles wanted to know.

"I wasn't doing anything to her!" snapped Jack. "I was trying to find out what she was doing in LA!"

The room went very still.

"LA?" Buffy asked quietly, her voice deadly as she stroked her red not-an-axe.

"My people were there," Jack explained reluctantly. "When we pulled them out, she was with one of them."

"Pulled them out?" picked Giles. "How?"

Jack set his jaw stubbornly.

"General..." Giles said ominously.

"I love watching him go all Ripper on someone," Xander whispered to Buffy. "In a manly way, of course."

"Of course," Buffy whispered back as Jack gulped.

_Ripper?_

There was a knock on the door as it opened and Dawn stuck her head inside the room, the telephone held to one ear. "Sorry to interrupt," she said unconvincingly. "Giles, Andrew's on the phone."

"Take a message," ordered Giles.

"He says the President's trying to get hold of you and can he give him this number?" Dawn passed the message on immediately.

"The President?" Giles said blankly as Jack grinned.

"Uh-huh," said Dawn. "Apparently he's on hold at the moment."

"Of the United States?" asked Giles.

"Duh!" Dawn rolled her eyes. "Is there another one?"

"Yes, actually," Giles said faintly. "Several."

"Oh," said Dawn. "Didn't know that."

"This is almost as good as that time the Queen called him," Buffy whispered to Xander as Giles polished his glasses.

"President's waiting," Jack reminded him in a sing-song voice.

"Uh, yes," Giles said, putting his glasses back on. "Of course. Of course!"

"Giles says yes," Dawn relayed the message. She hung up, "Can I talk to him?"

"No!" Buffy and Giles ruled at the same time.

"You never let me do anything fun," pouted Dawn, handing the phone over to Giles. "Can I at least stay and watch?"

"You know the rules," Buffy said firmly.

"I'm not allowed in the room during interrogations," sighed Dawn as the phone rang. "Fine. Be that way."

The door slammed behind her as Giles picked up the phone and the Englishman winced, "Hello? Mr President..."

"I voted for the other guy," commented Willow.

"Certainly, Henry," Giles said, looking bewildered.

"I didn't vote," admitted Xander.

"Yes, that's right," said Giles, looking at Jack. "I see."

"And... We've lost him," said Xander as Giles wedged the portable phone between his shoulder and ear so he could clean his glasses as he paced.

"So..." said Buffy, turning to Jack. "Jack. What were your people doing in LA?"

**l**

Faith frowned at the piece of paper General Hammond had given her. She might've passed her High School Equivalency Test but that didn't mean she understood legal jargon. Why hadn't they just written it in Latin?

"I don't understand," she said slowly, letting go of it so it drifted to the surface of the large table. Daniel snatched it up, his eyes moving rapidly as he read. "What does it say?"

"It's a pardon," General Hammond told her. "Signed by the President himself. He faxed it here a few minutes ago. He's looking forward to presenting you with the original in person."

"A pardon?" Faith asked shakily.

"It's a pardon all right," Daniel confirmed. "For 'all past and future crimes' committed on American soil."

"What?" asked Sam, frowning.

"I don't want it," Faith rejected.

"But it exonerates you from blame," Hammond explained gently.

"Doesn't change the fact that I did it," Faith said bluntly. "And my future crimes? That makes me untouchable!"

"I believe that is President Hayes' intention," rumbled Teal'c.

"But I don't want it!" Faith repeated.

"Well, you've got it," Daniel said wryly, pushing the document back over to her.

"Air Force One is standing by to take you wherever you want to go," Hammond told her kindly.

"I should call B first," Faith said vaguely, deliberately not looking at the sheet of paper staring up at her from the table. If she didn't look at it then it didn't exist. "Let her know I'm five by five."

"You can use the phone in Jack's office," Hammond said with a smile.

Her legs wobbling underneath her, Faith somehow made across the room and through the open door. Collapsing in the big red chair, she picked up the phone. B was engaged. She called Robin instead.

"Sir, who _is_ she?" Sam asked General Hammond as soon as Faith was engrossed in conversation.

"She's Faith Lehane," General Hammond said simply. "The world owes her and her associates a great debt."

"Of what kind of debt do you speak?" Teal'c asked curiously.

"One that can't be bought off with a pardon," Hammond told him.

"But, you're not going to tell us what it is?" guessed Daniel.

"No."

"Figured as much."

**l**

"Let him go," Giles ordered, hanging up.

"What?" Xander frowned.

"Send him back," said Giles, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose in a move that reminded Jack of Daniel. Who was back at the SGC with Faith. Who, if she was anything like as nuts as her friends, had probably taken over the base by now.

"Why?" asked Willow, pouting.

"Because I just told the President of the United States we would!" Giles snapped.

"Xander, get Dawn," Buffy instructed quietly, her eyes on Giles as he visibly reigned himself back.

"On it," Xander replied, slipping out of the room.

"Giles, what is it?" Buffy asked him, her eyes solemn.

"It's LA," Giles sighed, polishing his glasses as he stared at the floor.

"What about it?" Jack prompted impatiently.

"It's gone," Giles told them. Looking up, he glanced around the room. "Everyone... Vanished into thin air apparently."

"What do you mean, gone?" Buffy said in a small voice, her face crumpling.

"I mean the whole bloody city's disappeared!" Giles said quietly as Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy.

"What about Faith?" asked Willow.

"Faith's fine," the ghost of a smile crossed Giles' face as he put his glasses back on. "She's probably on her way back here now. I understand the President's loaned her Air Force One for the trip."

"But she's a wanted convict!" objected Jack.

This time Giles' smile was genuine, "Not anymore."


	12. Secrets

**A/N:**

Argh! Almost missed my deadline, _again_! Sorry, been out playing in the snow all day and lost track of time. Started uploading the pics to Facebook and freaked out when I realised how late it was!

Anyway, without further ado...

Enjoy,

**12/14 ~ Secrets**

**l**

"Okay," Dawn scowled as she glared at Jack, her arms firmly crossed. "Where are you going?"

"What?" asked Jack, thoroughly confused.

"She has to know where you're going in order to send you there," Xander explained impatiently. "It's a thing. Look, Giles promised the President you'd be back in your office in ten minutes and we're approaching deadline here. Help us out. Where you going?"

"The SGC," Jack found himself telling them. Who the hell were these people? Where had Buffy, Giles and Willow gone? And how the hell did knowing where he was going help them get him there?

"I can work with that," shrugged Dawn, unfolding her arms. She was holding a needle, Jack realised, and he winced as she jabbed it into her finger. "We have blood," she announced.

"Don't spill any," said Xander.

"As if," scoffed Dawn, drawing a large circle in the air with her injured finger. "Professional portal-maker here."

"You do it so well," Xander complimented.

"It's Brigadier Jack, right?" Dawn asked Jack over her shoulder.

"General O'Neill," Jack corrected her.

"General Jack's office," said Dawn, stepping back. "The SGC!"

Green light twisted and writhed in midair and became an almost-perfect large circular life-sized picture of Jack's office. It wasn't quite perfect. Because Faith was sitting in his chair, with her feet up on his desk, while talking on his phone. Smoking. Catching sight of them, she grinned, talking rapidly as she stubbed out her cigarette. On his desk.

"Faith," grinned Xander.

"She works fast," commented Dawn.

Hanging up his phone, Faith waved at them. In the corner of the picture, through his office window, Jack could make out SG-1 sat round the briefing room with General Hammond. They looked bored. None of them were looking in the right direction.

"Teal'c!" yelled Jack. "Carter! Somebody!"

"They can't hear you," said Xander, frowning.

"That's why you can't hear them," Dawn explained. "Sound doesn't travel. You do."

"You expect me to walk into that?" demanded Jack.

"Why not?" asked Xander. "Freakiest dream ever, remember?"

When he put it like that... Jack shrugged. It wasn't like he hadn't done crazier things, walking into the Stargate for all these years. Taking a deep breath, he walked forward, trying not to think about what he was doing. He really wished he wasn't still handcuffed...

A tingling sensation washed over him and then Faith was catching him as he staggered, carefully steadying him. Jack looked quickly over his shoulder. Xander waved at him and green cracks ran through the picture as his wall popped back into place.

"When the hell did B get cuffs?" asked Faith. "Lucky for you, she buys wussie ones. Got anything sharp and metal?"

"Paperclips, top drawer," Jack told her. She grabbed one and bent her head over his wrists. "So..." Jack said, casting about for an innocuous topic of conversation. The weather perhaps... "This is a turnaround."

"Ain't it just," Faith sympathised as a lock clicked open and his left wrist was freed.

"Why didn't you go back?" Jack asked her.

"Little D's portals are one-way deals," Faith explained as she unlocked the other cuff. "That's why we got the amulets."

"Good to know," Jack told her absently, walking to the briefing room door. "I'm delighted that you all found a way to cope with your grief at my absence," he said loudly, repressing a grin as the people lounging round the table jumped.

"Sir!" Carter exclaimed, shooting to her feet.

"You're back," Daniel blinked at him

"O'Neill," beamed Teal'c.

"Jack," General Hammond said solemnly.

"General," replied Jack, equally serious.

"Where did you come from?" asked Carter.

"A nightmare," Jack told her, sitting down heavily. "Oz. A galaxy far, far away. Take your pick."

"Jack, you're not making any sense," Daniel frowned.

"Ha!" barked Jack. "You try making sense when you've seen what I've seen! Because, trust me, you haven't seen what I just saw, Daniel!"

"Still not making sense..." said Daniel.

"You have _no_ idea," Jack told him.

"Better," coaxed Daniel.

"And that would be my cue to leave," Faith said hurriedly, exiting Jack's office. "Good luck against the snakes. It's been a blast."

"That's it?" asked Jack. "You're just going to go?"

"Pretty much," shrugged Faith.

"One question, before you do," Jack asked politely, standing up with a smile. The smile dropped from his face as he yelled, "Who the _hell_ are you people!"

"I'm sure General H'll explain once I'm gone," Faith said flippantly. "Now, if someone wants to show a girl the way out..."

"No," Hammond shook his head. "I won't."

"What?" demanded Jack, his head whipping around to stare at his commanding officer. "Sir!"

"You'd really leave 'em hangin' like this?" Faith asked him, taken aback. "Why?"

"Good question," said Jack.

"The President feels very strongly that your secrets are yours to tell," Hammond informed Faith. "And I happen to agree with him."

"Damn," said Faith. She grinned suddenly, "I'dve voted for him too."

**l**

Once General Jack had been sent safely back off to work and Faith, Dawn and Xander joined the others in the smaller room just off the library. The windowless room was crammed full of the more sensitive tomes in the castle's library and was the castle's unofficial research room. In a corner of the room, Giles was pouring boiling water from the kettle into the teapot, his glasses fogged up by the steam. Xander flung himself into the last comfy chair as Dawn perched on a stool next to her sister, who was already yawning as she flipped through a thick book.

"Lemme guess..." Xander picked up a book from the stack, opening it at the first page. "What swallowed LA?"

"Quite," said Giles, polishing his glasses. "We need to discover if there is any hope for Angel, Wesley, Charles Gunn and Krevlornswath."

"Who?" Buffy asked, a confused frown rumpling her forehead.

"He means Lorne," Willow informed her, an equally puzzled frown on her troubled face. "What about Fred?"

"Hmm?" Giles looked up from pouring his tea.

"You didn't mention Fred," Willow told him, still frowning.

"Or poor Cordy," Xander added. "I mean, she's in a coma... it's not like she can even fight back!"

"That's if they're even capable of fighting," Giles reminded him. "Frankly I can't see how one can possibly hope to fight against something capable of eating the entire population of LA."

"That's quitter talk, G-Man!" Xander reproached and Giles winced as he lifted the teacup to his lips.

"Xander, for the umpteenth time," the Head Watcher mumbled, sipping his tea. "Please don't call me that."

Buffy watched her watcher closely, suspicion coiling round her gut. "Giles," she said, her voice filled with dread. "What do you know that we don't?"

"About what?" Giles enquired mildly, setting his cup back down on its saucer as he blinked through his glasses at her.

"About LA," Buffy told him. "And Cordy and Fred, whoever that is."

"Oh, Fred's cute!" Willow enthusiastically filled her friend in as Buffy glared at Giles. "She's all meek and shy like a little mouse and then once you get her talking she babbles almost as badly as I do in this really cute Texan accent and she's like genius-level smart-"

"Dawn..." said Buffy, her face stern as she stood, her eyes still locked with Giles'. "Out."

"But!" Dawn protested. She sighed as she got to her feet, pouting as she grumbled on her way to the door, "I never get to watch the interrogations."

Reluctantly, she shut the door behind her.


	13. One Girl in All the World

**13/14 ~ One Girl In All The World... Or Something Like That**

**l**

Faith looked at them. Good old Sunnydale Syndrome wasn't gonna stick on this lot. They dealt with the weird on a daily basis. They were the types who'd dig deep for answers too, and not care if they were ordered not to. Faith sighed.

"Don't s'pose anyone made with the explanations before they sent you back?" she asked Jack hopefully.

"Not so much," he said sarcastically. "They were more about the drugs and the threatening to break my bones."

"Drugs?" yelped Carter.

"They said it was a truth potion," Jack shuddered at the memory. "Tasted like cold vomit."

"Could've been vomit, if it was one of Willow's," Faith said unhelpfully. "I hear her latest batch included yak bile."

"They made me drink yak vomit?" Jack turned green.

"Can't I just send Giles to give them the 'one girl in all the world' speech?" Faith asked General Hammond plaintively. "Giles loves that speech."

"It is of course up to you..." he said noncommittally.

"But I'm here now," sighed Faith. "Great."

"Faith Lehane," rumbled Teal'c and Faith winced as she turned to him. "I give you my word as a Jaffa that, although I am indeed most curious, I will not endeavor to discover your secret if you do not wish to entrust me with it."

"That's nice, T," said Faith. "But you call me Lehane again and I'll break both your arms, are we clear?"

Teal'c inclined his head, "We are clear."

"Okay..." Faith said nervously, pacing the room. "I've never done this before," she warned. "But it starts with 'The word is older than you know'..." Jack's eyes glazed over as she continued, "Contrary to popular belief, it did not begin as a paradise."

"Boring!" Jack interrupted. "Bottom line it for me."

"Use little words," Carter suggested helpfully.

"Hey!" Jack objected.

"Magic is real," Faith gave it to 'em straight. "Demons are real. Vampires, witches, werewolves... all real."

"What was that you said about drugs, sir?" Carter asked Jack.

"Go back to the bit about the world being old than we know," Daniel said, frowning. "That sounded familiar."

"What are you?" Teal'c asked thoughtfully.

"I'm a slayer," Faith told him. "Technically, I'm the Last Slayer, but there's hundreds of us now."

"Hundreds, you say?" said Jack. "Pray, tell, what do you slay?"

"Vampires, demons," Faith shrugged. "Basically anything evil."

"How can you be the last slayer if there's hundreds of you?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Used to be there was only one at a time," Faith explained. "Girl died, next one got called. I was the last one chosen that way."

"What changed that?" Teal'c wanted to know.

"B did," Faith said simply. "B and Red."

"And B is...?" said Daniel.

"Buffy," Jack said suddenly. "Right?" he asked Faith. "And Red's gotta be Willow."

Carter frowned, "What sort of a name is Buffy?"

"Only one she's got," Faith told her. "So I wouldn't diss it in front of her."

"How?" Jack asked.

"Red cast a spell, channelled it through B's scythe..."

"Red, shiny, not-quite-an-axe, likes to stroke it a lot?" Jack described succinctly. "Seen it," he said when Faith nodded.

"And we're supposed to believe that turned hundreds of girls into these... slayers?" Carter said sceptically.

"Pretty much," admitted Faith. "Told you you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Why?" asked Teal'c.

"We were in a kinda death-death situation," Faith told him. She shrugged as they stared at her, "They happen. B remembered the first rule."

"Which is?" Daniel asked.

"Don't die," said Faith.

"A sound rule," commented Teal'c.

"You're not really swallowing this, Teal'c, are you?" asked Sam. "General? Daniel?"

"One girl in all the world..." mused Daniel.

"You weren't there, Carter," Jack told her.

"I can't prove it to you without dragging a vamp in here," Faith said to Carter. "And it's daylight up there. But you were in LA. You know what you saw."

"Aliens," Sam said weakly.

"Never met an alien dragon before," mused Faith. "Bottom line? You aren't gonna believe it without seeing it an' even then probably not 'til you've run tests on it, and I really gotta book. Tell you what, next time I'm in the area, I'll swing by, take you patrolling with me."

"I have some tapes in my briefcase that Colonel Carter should find interesting," General Hammond said smoothly. "Footage from the Initiative."

"You just happen to have it on you, huh?" Faith said wryly.

"I was a boy scout once," Hammond told her. "I believe in being prepared."

"I bet you do," Faith said to him and Sam's jaw dropped. Was Faith _flirting_ with General Hammond?

"Walter will see you out," Jack said quickly, equally horrified. "Walter!"

Walter appeared on the stairs in moments, "Yes, sir?"

"Walter!" snapped Jack. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"No, sir," Walter immediately denied it.

"Good..." Jack said, the wind taken out of his sails. "Escort Faith to the surface and see that she gets in a car to Peterson. Apparently, Air Force One is at her disposal."

"Yes, sir," said Walter, hiding his surprise admirably. "Right this way, Miss Lehane."

"It's Faith, Walt," Faith told him. "Just Faith."

"And it's, uh, Walter," Walter replied, pushing his glasses up his nose with the hand that wasn't clutching his clipboard. "You can call me Sergeant Harriman."

"Slayer Faith," said Teal'c rising from his seat and holding out his hand. "You are a mighty warrior. It has been my honour to meet you. Tek ma te."

"Right back atcha," Faith told him, reaching forward to shake his hand. Teal'c's arm moved and she found herself clasping his forearm as he leaned over their joined arms. "Keep fightin' the fight," she said.

"You also," Teal'c said solemnly, letting go of her arm.

"General Jack!" Faith said, turning to him. "It's been a pleasure and all that crap."

"Likewise," snarked Jack.

"Give me a call if she still doesn't believe after she sees the tapes," Faith told him, jerking a thumb at Carter.

"Ya," Jack said sceptically. "Sure. You betcha!"

"Danny-boy..." Faith winked at him. "Stay cute."

Daniel's jaw dropped.

"C'mon, Walt," said Faith. "Let's get outta here."

Daniel's jaw stayed open as he watched her saunter from the room. There was a long, shell-shocked silence.

"I need a drink," Jack said finally.

"Actually you need to come with me to Washington DC, for an immediate debriefing," General Hammond informed him.

"Can I have a drink first?" Jack asked plaintively.

"It's with the President," Hammond told him.

"Sir," Carter said reasonably. "Surely you don't actually believe-"

"Just watch the damn tapes, Carter!" snapped Jack. He reigned himself back with an effort. "That's an order." Turning to Hammond he pleaded, "Just one?"

"Sorry, Jack," Hammond said sincerely.

**l**

Paul closed the file he was reading, getting to his feet as Faith Lehane strode into Air Force One's main cabin. She looked exactly as he'd imagined her while he read her file. Beautiful... and lethal. Dressed in skin tight black leather that left nothing to the imagination and plenty to drool over. Provided you could see past the various weapons strapped to her body.

"Who the fuck are you?" she demanded, bristling.

"Major Paul Davis," Paul introduced himself, holding out his hand. She ignored it, looking him up and down. "I'm here to brief you on the Stargate Program."

"Heard it," Faith told him, sitting down in one of the chairs. "Save it for the others."

"The others?" Paul asked, a feeling of dread filling his belly.

"B and the rest," Faith said impatiently. "And buckle up, we're moving."

So they were. "Where are we going?" Paul asked weakly, sitting down.

"London," Faith said, stretching out in her chair with a sigh. There was a slight cracking sound and Paul noticed that, although she looked relaxed, her knuckles were white as she gripped the armrests. "Scooby meeting at the Council House. Didn't they tell you _anything_?"

"I was told to brief you," Paul told her, panicking slightly. "No-one else."

"Oh, well," she shrugged, looking tense as the plane lifted off. "Call the President. Tell him I kidnapped you. I'm gonna try and nap until this is over."

"Wouldn't you rather sleep in a bed?" Paul asked her, back on more comfortable territory as he tried to distract her with the comforts of Air Force One. He planned to call General Hammond the first chance he got. Kidnap?

"Hell, yeah," said Faith. "But we're on a..." she sat bolt upright, her eyes shining. "There's really a bed?"

"More than one," Paul told her.

"This I gotta see!"

She did.


	14. Loose Ends

**14/14 ~ Loose Ends**

**l**

Jack and General Hammond flew to Washington DC while Sam watched the tapes. They gave her nightmares. Daniel made it halfway through the first one. Teal'c watched them all. Repeatedly.

**l**

It was a good thing that Faith had a chance to shower, sleep and eat during the surprisingly short flight back to Scotland because the second she stepped over the threshold of B's castle Dawn informed her that the other Scoobies were holed up with Giles in the library, interrogating him about LA. Handing Major Hottie, as she'd mentally termed Davis, over to Dawn's care, Faith went straight to the library, walking right into the middle of a Scooby meeting filled with anger and hurt.

While she'd been flying back to Scotland, B and the others had been busy prying secrets out of Giles. Now that she was here, they fell over each other to tell her what they'd discovered while Giles sat slumped in his favourite armchair, looking up at her with a look that was both guilty and contrite, as he cleaned his glasses on autopilot.

Turned out, Angel had tried to contact them. He'd called Giles twice. The first time was when Cordy had died, and you could see that that news had ripped Xander's barely healed heart right back out of his chest. The other time, he'd been trying to get hold of Willow, because an Old One was killing Fred. The G-man had told him she was unavailable. Faith didn't think she'd ever seen Red so mad.

Mad as Red was, B had her beat hands down. In her eyes, Giles had betrayed her twice, and talked Andrew into helping him. Angel had been to see her, one of the decoys who he'd been told was her, in Rome. He hadn't been alone. Spike had been with him. Somehow, Spike was alive. Or rather, still undead. And Giles hadn't told her.

Truth was, her return was just another excuse for them to vent their anger at Giles. Normally, Faith would have been more than happy to let them have their fill, on the basis that they were saying it better than she could right now, in her shell-shocked state of mind. But she had news of her own to tell them. Wesley was dead.

Davis had filled her in on the events in LA after she'd been pulled onboard the Prometheus during their flight on Air Force One. The Prometheus had been monitoring an energy build-up at the time, centered on the Hyperion's block. Shortly afterwards, it had peaked and disappeared entirely, along with every lifesign in LA. Military forces sent in afterwards had reported that everyone in LA seemed to have vanished, leaving a deserted city and a few bodies behind. The White House was spinning it as a "biological terror attack". Wes' name had been on the list of the identified bodies. There was no word on Angel or the others.

That news was the straw that broke Buffy's back. Angrily informing her Watcher just what she thought of him, she ordered him out of her castle and sight, flouncing from the room. Casting angry and reproachful looks at Giles, Willow and Xander followed her. Giles turned to Faith, looking lost.

"Faith..." he sighed.

"I'll walk you out," Faith told him implacably, her arms folded.

Giles nodded, looking resigned. Putting his glasses back on, he pushed himself out of his chair, patting down his pockets as he glanced around the room for anything he might have missed. Finding nothing, he looked back at Faith.

"How are you?" he asked, walking to the door. "Did this SGC mistreat you in any way?"

"Me?" Faith asked, following him. "I'm five by five. Not the one who's been eaten." Red had filled her in on the mystical explanation for events in LA and Giles winced at the reminder. "SGC was actually kinda cool. Nothing for us to worry about," Faith told him as they entered the hall of the castle. "No history of demonic dabbling at all. In fact," Faith grinned as she thought of the large Jaffa she'd met. "You could call it a first encounter for both of us."

Giles frowned down at her in puzzlement as they left the castle, heading for the helicopter he'd arrived in. "You like them," he said slowly.

A frown briefly crossed Faith's face as she considered. "Guess I do," she shrugged. "They're good people. Got each other's backs." Giles flinched.

As they approached the helicopter, Giles' pilot appeared around the corner of the castle, headed in their direction. Faith opened the passenger door for Giles, holding it while he climbed in.

"Faith," Giles said as she started to close the door, stopping her. "Thank you."

"For what?" Faith frowned, confused.

"For not saying I told you so," Giles told her. "Of all of us, you were the only one who was wholly convinced that Angel would use his position at Wolfram and Hart to do some good, and you were right."

"Figured the last thing you needed was me saying I told you so," Faith told him, her face somber. "'Cause Cordy? Fred? Wes? Their deaths are on your hands. And Angel and the rest? They're gone too. An' you're the one that's gotta live with that, Giles."

Closing the door on him before he could reply, Faith walked away. Behind her the rotors of the helicopter clattered into life and her hands clenched into fists. The foundations she had built her life on were crumbling beneath her feet. Aliens were real. Giles had blood on his hands. Angel and the rest of LA were gone...

Faith had a horrible feeling that reality hadn't fully hit her yet. She was dreading the fall-out when it did. Getting Giles far away was definitely a good idea. Already she was aching to slay something to deal with the turmoil inside her. Was it really only yesterday that she'd been happily snuggling with Robin when the call had come in about a seer gone catatonic or had more time passed?

Why hadn't Angel called her? Didn't he know that she'd have dropped everything, cut her ties with the Scoobies if necessary to stand with him in his fight? She owed her life to him. He'd believed in her when no-one else had. Given her the strength to start believing in herself and to fight for her redemption

"Faith!"

Buffy's shout broke into her thoughts and Faith realized that she was sitting on the steps of the castle brooding. Angel would be proud. Getting up, she pushed the heavy door of the castle open with ease just as Buffy yelled her name again.

"What?" Faith asked her, entering the hall behind the blonde slayer and her two best friends.

Buffy whirled around to face her, "There you are. Why is there an Air Force Major being pummeled in my gym?"

"Wondered what happened to Major Hottie," Faith sighed. "Damn. Thought Little D'd take better care of him."

"Good name," Willow approved.

"She's hitting on him," Buffy told Faith wryly. "Somehow I don't think I have anything to worry about. Who is he?"

"Paul Davis," Faith explained. "He was gonna tell me 'bout the SGC but they gave me a tour while I was there. Figured he could explain it better than me so I kidnapped him."

"You kidnapped him?" Xander exclaimed incredulously. "Why?"

Faith shrugged, "Eye for an eye?"

"But we already kidnapped Soldier Guy," Buffy pointed out.

"General Jack?" Faith said with a grin. "That was karma, B. Sweet karma..."

**l**

When the briefing that followed was over at last, Willow dropped Faith off in Cleveland where the Dark Slayer went on a forty-eight hour one-woman rampage that left the local demon population decimated and quivering with fear in their lairs. Returning to Rio, Willow threw herself into researching demons that might be capable of swallowing an entire city, reluctantly coordinating with Giles. It took a major apocalypse before the Scoobies eventually began to forgive their Watcher, and there was no chance that they could forget what he had done. As Andrew never learned about the SGC, Faith decided that paying him was probably a bad idea. Yeah, he'd helped Giles conceal the fact that Spike had returned, but could he really be trusted with the news that Wormhole X-Treme was real?

President Henry Hayes declared that Los Angeles would be maintained as a lasting memorial to those who'd lost their lives in the attack. When Major Paul Davis finally managed to return to Washington DC, he brought with him the news that the New Watchers Council had appointed Faith Lehane as their official liaison to the SGC and his resignation, effective if he was ever asked to work with them again. Faith never picked up her pardon.

Within a month of Faith's visit, Sam transferred to Area 51 to be closer to Cassie, who was having difficulty adjusting to college, and Teal'c had left the SGC for Dakara and the Jaffa Free Nation. Daniel began to make plans to move to the Pegasus galaxy. It took a very determined Colonel called Cameron Mitchell to bring them back together again. And Jack? _Major_ General Jack O'Neill, two l's, never came back from Washington DC.

What happened next is another story. Or even a couple...

**l**

**A/N:**

See Visions of Vampires for what happened next, and Slayers in Space for what happened after that. :)


End file.
